GURPS Banestorm PBBB narrative thread

games
42

Ranar Bolijyr

Ranar watched as Aronn headed toward the palace, scanning the crowd for any signs of a threat or disturbance. Once the elf reached the palace, he turned to tend to the horses. They seemed relaxed and accustomed to the area, which made Ranar relax a bit. He tethered them securely, patted them on the shoulder, and took a look at his surroundings.

Something strange hanging by the doorway of a nearby shop caught his eye and he took a few steps over to get a closer look. It appeared to be some sort of decorative artwork, but might hold meaning as a sign or something. Without consciously realizing it, he began slowly walking around the perimeter of the square, taking in the sights, smells, and sounds of a strange culture. The locals mostly ignored him, although a few sneered, perhaps at his armband. As he wandered around the square, he looked back toward the carriage every few minutes to make sure it was still in view.

43

Morton

‘It’s too dry, isn’t it? Who likes dry bread?’

He stretched and paced around, still dressed in his ‘animal skin’ outfit.

“And while I’m up, what’s that squeaking noise and will somebody put that thing out of it’s misery?”

44

GM scene, Hawk only

Most of the gossip overheard by Hawk is of a mundane variety; merchants complaining about shipping fees, shopholders complaining of lazy slaves, husbands complaining of wives. Lord Aronn’s name does not arise at all.

You do pick up some things of interest, however. As with coffee shops everywhere, politics is a significant part of the discussion.

Little of this talk centres around local concerns; it appears as if the people of West Tredroy are quite satisfied with the rule of Pasha al-Paradin. You do hear one merchant complaining about a court case that went against him due to obscure theological reasons, but the response from his companions is along the lines of “you’re an idiot for registering the contract here, you should’ve done it in North Tredroy”.

When it comes to national concerns, however, the political talk is much more serious. The Sultan, although in his mid-40’s, is childless and not well-respected. It seems that he is little more than a figurehead, with the real power in al-Haz instead resting in the hands of his Viziers. Much of the political talk seems to be in the nature of arguments over which of the four Viziers to support.

The names you hear for the Viziers are Barak, Omar, Salim and Sharif. The fans of Barak praise him as a righteous man and a great scholar; his critics decry him as a simple-minded and superstitious country Imam. Omar’s supporters argue that he instead is the wisest and most educated, although his critics mutter darkly about sorcery, with the name “Balik” occurring repeatedly.

Salim is praised as a sensible man, but criticised for his age and lack of initiative. Sharif earns the the most vigorous praise of the four, with his supporters lauding his competence and honesty. However, a few of the merchants pass comments along the lines of “you don’t want your government to be too honest, know what I mean?”.

Beyond the political talk, you also catch more than one conversation discussing a mysterious sickness in the west of the country. “Surely Allah would not allow such a thing in Geb’al-Din without reason?”.

45

GM SCENE, Ranar only

Ranar strolls around the square, poking about as he goes. Besides the eateries, most of the goods available for sale are of an agricultural or utilitarian nature. It seems that the cause may be economic as well as cultural; West Tredroy is simply not as wealthy as the rest of the city.

One notable sight lies in the centre of the square; a finely crafted raised stage sits next to a low and crude wooden platform, the surface of which is covered in bloodstains both old and new. Around this platform, a group of slaves are pushing brooms, apparently cleaning up a great deal of crushed and rotten vegetables scattered around it.

The Palace lies to the west of the square, the Grand Mosque to the east, while the southern skyline is dominated by Southhall. This imposing fortress, even larger than the palace, is the headquarters of the Tredroy Mercenaries’ Guild (but not their only holding; the Mercenaries’ also maintain Newhall in North Tredroy).

The overall impression is of a city under fairly tight control; mailed soldiers stand at guard outside the palace and the mosque, as well as an occasional patrol through the streets and the square.

As you’re about to complete another circuit of the square (you’re in between the palace and the rest of the party, heading back towards the carriage), a tall, slender figure dressed in black comes sprinting past you at extreme speed, lightly slapping you with a hand on the back of the head as it passes.

The black figure continues at a full sprint (too fast for Ranar to catch up), heading straight towards the carriage.

[PLAYER CUE: Ranar, do you follow? Only Ranar is aware of this so far]

46

Blue Hawk

This
 This is not good, thinks the shaman.

A sick tree-man, and a sickness spreading into this land near where this land meets the forest of the tree-men.

An unpopular ruler, and talk of the succession.

And the sick tree-man entering the palace with his illness, hiring mercenary guards despite the fact that he should have men loyal to him


None of this feels right.

Hawk takes a swig of water, both to lighten his pack and to wash the taste of whatever this “coffee” stuff is out of his mouth. He moves his shield and spear closer to him so that he can move quickly if necessary.

When Lord Arron gets back, the tribeman has the distinct feeling that they will need to get back across the river in a hurry.

47

Nicolas de Courcy, Valley Inn 3 hours ago

“Coin does excuse a lot,” de Courcy smiles back at the barman, " I suppose as long as this elf is only interested in history, this job could turn out alright."

West Tredoy

“Some thing’s wrong
” de Courcy says, his eyes narrowing as he scans the crowd.

He stands from the table, keeping his rapier clear of obstructions, and starts moving to the carriage. It would almost seem casual, if you hadn’t heard what he’d just said.
“Eyes open, and stick close,” he says quietly to the group.

De Courcy whistles loudly, and attempts to make eye-contact with Ranar.

“Ranar, Hawk; break time’s up lads, boss should be back soon,” he yells.

48

Ranar Bolijyr

Ranar ambled along, getting adjusted to the musical sounds of people talking and arguing in a foreign language. He might not know what they were saying, but the patterns of volume and emphasis could give a general idea of the nature of the conversation.

Out of nowhere, a slap to the back of his head jarred him out of his thoughts. He immediately gave full chase to the tall, thin, dark figure that ran past him toward the carriage. He took a deep breath to call out to the group, realizing too late that they hadn’t come up with a name or signals, so he’d have to remember all of their names. In an uncharacteristically loud and deep-voiced bellow, he called out “Hawk! Jibril! Morton! Courcy!”

As he ran, with the carriage ahead, his thoughts jumped to the safety of the horses, but whoever slapped him from behind had had full advantage, and it had been only a tap, not an attack.

49

Blue Hawk

Hawk rises quickly, taking to hand his spear and shield and starting to move back towards the carriage.

Hawk turns his head towards the sound of Ranar’s voice and the clinking of armour — why do these men insist on wearing so much metal, when it slows them so much? — and spots that he is running after a black figure, who in turn is running towards their carriage.

As much as he prefers being right to being wrong, some days he hates being right. The shaman moves to intercept the figure in black, aiming to meet the figure about ten feet out from the carriage, if possible.

Without invoking the spirits, he reminds himself as he moves into position.

50

Nicolas de Courcy

Ranar’s bellowing only confirmed de Courcy’s gut feeling. Things are about to go bad, in a major way.

“Should’ve listened to my gut, but nooo I needed the coin,” he mutters as he draws his rapier and drops into a guard position.

51

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl takes out his daggers, and, unobserved by anyone, slips into the shadows on the edges of the square.

52

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_Holz @daneel

GM SCENE

As Nicolas draws his rapier and Hawk hurries back towards the group, the slender figure clad in black approaches and leaps onto the driver’s bench of the carriage, gathering the reins.

It is Aronn, but he is almost unrecognisable. Instead of the stooped and agonised figure that you’ve grown accustomed to, Aronn is apparently now in perfect health. He has the youthful appearance of a normal elf, and sprang onto the carriage with effortless agility.

Turning to you with a broad grin, he shouts “jump on boys, company’s coming!” as he whips the horses into motion. Meanwhile, out in the square, it appears that the drama of Aronn’s entrance combined with the sight of Nicolas’ steel has drawn the attention of several guardsmen.

[PLAYER CUE: response? Ranar is still about a hundred yards off, clumping towards you at his not-very-fast maximum speed; he’s about twenty seconds away. Jibril has ducked away a few yards, but can make it back in a few seconds if he wants to. The rest of you are standing next to the carriage, which is beginning to move]

53

Ranar Bolijyr

Ranar continues running full-tilt toward the carriage, not entirely surprised that it is Aronn, but a bit surprised that he jumped into the driver’s bench and took the reins. Despite the commotion, he does not draw a weapon.

54

Nicolas de Courcy

“You should’ve sent word ahead, we’d have saved them some pastries,” replies de Courcy, shunting Arron’s sudden health to the part of his mind labelled ‘Odd things, for later.’

He glances around, where the hell did the prickly Wazifi go? He looks back at the clanking dwarf running at full-tilt, and makes a quick calculation.

“Company” hadn’t shown up yet, but couldn’t be far off, and there’s no way Ranar would catch the carriage if it gets moving.

De Courcy grabs Arron’s leg, in an attempt to halt the carriage.

“Wait for Ranar, Goddamn it.”

55

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl waits until the coach has nearly passed his location, then swings effortlessly up on back and rearranges his cloak, keeping a close eye on the palace, with his weapons loose.

56

Blue Hawk

Thoughts swirl in Hawk’s head. It tries to add the sudden health of Lord Arron to the information he’s already picked up, but all he can remember is the story of the Wolf and the Hunter. He had told the others that only Death could heal such an illness. He has a bad feeling he was right, as that’s what just happened. He has a worse feeling, based on the gossip he overheard, that he thinks he knows who just died.

The tribesman tosses his shield and knapsack into the carriage, keeping hold of his spear, but does not climb in himself. De Courcy is right: if the carriage starts moving, Ranar won’t catch it. Hawk, though, sufficiently lightened, might be able to keep up.

If his suspicion is right, and Lord Arron is now a murderer, Hawk will not let him add Ranar to the number he has killed today. He begins preparing to cast the spell necessary to call the spirits forth and commune with one of the horses drawing the carriage. If the carriage begins picking up speed to the point where Ranar will be left behind, he’ll take control and tell the horse to slow down again.

One does not leave one of one’s warband behind, and if the alternative is breaking the prohibition on magic, then he will gladly break that law. If the shaman is right, they’re already wanted for murder (and if his darker suspicions are right, regicide), so a little “communing with demons” won’t get them into that much more trouble than they’re already in.

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57

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_Holz @daneel

GM SCENE

Aronn’s grin momentarily twists into a scowl as Nicolas grabs his leg, but the smile returns as he shakes his leg free and sharply drags the horses around to head towards Ranar’s clattering approach.

Jibrīl has swung onto the rear of the carriage; Nicolas is half onto the driver’s seat beside Aronn, while Morton has clambered inside. Ranar is still about 70 yards away, while Hawk trots behind the accelerating carriage, spear and spell at the ready.

Behind Ranar, you see several Hazi guardsmen begin to run towards you, drawing swords and shouting in Arabic as they do so. It looks like they will reach Ranar before he can make it to the cafe, but the carriage might be able to swoop past him just in time.

[PLAYER CUE:

Hawk, cast the spell or not? Stay where you are, or jump on the carriage? If you do cast, what do you want the horses to do? At the moment, the carriage is gathering speed and heading towards Ranar, although it appears that the carriage will reach him only moments before the guards do. It’ll need to be a no-stop pickup if you want to avoid a confrontation.

Ranar: you hear guards shouting in Arabic behind you, you see the carriage turning towards you. Keep running towards the carriage, stop and face the guards, something else?

Jibrīl: sword out or not? Nicolas already has drawn weaponry up front.

Nicolas: stay on the driver’s bench with Aronn, or something else? Rapier hidden or brandished or something in between?]

58

Blue Hawk

The moment after he thinks about calling the spirits to stop the horses so that Ranar can catch up, the horses veer away from Hawk and start running towards the mine-man.

Huh, thinks Hawk, I must give this Lord Arron more credit in future.

Hawk forgets about the his spirit call and redoubles his effort to keep up with, and now to hop into, the carriage. It’s better this way, anyway: the shaman has never felt right about calling the spirits without his drum in hand. And he can always hop out again if it looks like Ranar will be left behind.

59

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl is poised with his janbiya out, ready to throw if required (or use in melee).

60

Ranar Bolijyr

Sparing a quick glance behind him, Ranar mutters under his breath and tries to urge a little more speed out of his aching legs, but he doesn’t have much running left in him. Looking toward the approaching carriage, he thinks “Come on, horses, you can run faster.”

61

Nicolas de Courcy
De Courcy looks Aronn dead in eye as the elf-lord scowls, holding the gaze for a second. As the elf’s smile returns de Courcy swings back from the drivers bench, tossing his rapier in through the window and freeing his other hand to open the door.

As soon as he’s inside the carriage, de Courcy nudges the rapier into the centre of the cabin with his toe, anchors himself and leans back out of the carriage with his arm extended low ready to pull Ranar into the carriage.

The wind begins to whip his hair back, as the carriage picks up speed.

What the hell, he thinks as he breaks into a grin, trouble’s here might as well enjoy it.

“Come on dwarf, you can run faster than some fat guardsmen!” he yells.

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